GEELONG will receive an injection of pace and flair for its game against Richmond at the MCG on Sunday, with Steven Motlop to make his long-awaited return.
Motlop, who had an interrupted pre-season after having knee surgery, has spent the past two weeks playing in the VFL.
But Cats coach Chris Scott has all but guaranteed the dashing half-forward will be recalled to the club's AFL team to face the Tigers.
"He'll be likely this week," Scott said at Simonds Stadium on Tuesday.
If Motlop did not play this weekend, he would have to wait another fortnight to make his return to the highest level, as Geelong has a bye in round eight.
"Sometimes we're ultra-conservative, but to give him another two weeks would be ridiculous conservatism," Scott said.
"I guess I'm not giving him the absolute green light to play, because it's not completely my decision and I don't make it in isolation on a Tuesday or a Wednesday.
"But the information we've got from our medical staff is that he'll be well and truly in the frame this week."
Key forward Tom Hawkins is also expected to line up against the Tigers despite limping from the field late in the Cats' loss to Port Adelaide on Sunday.
"It's not guaranteed at the moment, but all the indications are really good," Scott said.
"He got a little bit of a knock to that knee and it looked a bit awkward.
"There's no question we were worried, but all the indications are really positive that he'll be fine for this week."
Star defender Andrew Mackie and ruckman Dawson Simpson are also in the mix.
Mackie missed the clash with the Power after failing to recover from a hamstring problem, while Simpson was sidelined after rolling his ankle at training.
"It's more positive with Dawson than we initially thought," Scott said. "He just went over on his ankle and it blew up a little bit.
"I think if he had done it in the game against Hawthorn, he would have been a very good chance to play on the weekend.
"But when you do it two days before the game – we held out a 1 per cent chance that he might be right, but it didn't eventuate.
"He's a legitimate chance for this week."
As for Mackie's fitness, Scott said: "I don't think we'll be in a position to guarantee whether Andrew Mackie will play until a day before the game."
The Cats will go into the clash with the Tigers as hot favourites, and history is on their side.
Since the start of the 1984 season, Geelong has played Richmond 46 times and has won 38 of those games, including the past nine on the trot.
But Scott is taking nothing for granted.
"I guess you assume, and we assume this every week, that they're going to come out with everything they've got and play their best," he said.
"We would be fools if we thought that we're going to play an opposition that's not going to try their hardest and they're going to give up when the heat's on.
"We're expecting them to play at their absolute best, and we need to prepare for that or we'll get beaten."
